VJ Manish

Did you ever think your first meeting with a chat friend could be fodder for a reality show episode? The latest to join the voyeuristic bandwagon is Channel V’s Lovenet (Friday, 7pm), a reality show geared to capture every move you make, every breath you take the next time you set up a first date with that oh-so-cute guy you met a week ago in an Internet chat room. “It’s an all-new format developed by the channel where we get people who have only interacted online to meet in the real world,” says VJ Manish, the presenter of the newest dating show on the block.

Lovenet is divided into three segments — an initial screening process where a candidate expresses a desire to meet a chat friend, a subsequent background check on the other candidate and finally, the meeting between the two people. All in front of a camera, of course! “The idea for the show stems from the fact that 99 per cent of people are not speaking the truth about themselves when they are befriending online. This is as much a platform to expose these people as it is a fun show,” chuckles Manish. “We even have a ‘room raid’ segment where we take the camera — and the candidate — to the chat friend’s home or room to show them exactly how they live,” says Manish.

On air for just two weeks now, Lovenet has already unmasked quite a few netizens. “There was an episode where a guy was being taken for a royal ride by two girls. He thought he was chatting with one girl, but he was actually chatting with two! Imagine his shock when both girls landed up on the show,” laughs Manish.

Fun and games it all may be, but — from Sach Ka Saamna to Emotional Atyachar to now Lovenet — why this need to expose one’s morals or the lack of it? “Lovenet is not a voyeuristic show, nor are we questioning anyone’s morals. We just want to be looked at as a tutorial on Internet dating,” signs off Manish.